A surprising main event has been set for the UFC’s first trip to Utah.
It’s looks like the UFC wants to push Yair Rodriguez in a big way. The TUF Latin America winner will make his first appearance as a headliner when he takes on Alex Caceres in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Salt Lake City on August 6th.
FloCombat broke the news about the fight.
The 23-year-old Rodriguez (7-1, 4-0 UFC) has looked excellent since winning TUF, most recently flattening Andre Fili with a head kick at UFC 197 in April. That earned the young Mexican fighter his second performance bonus so far.
Caceres (12-8, 1 NC, 7-6, 1 NC UFC) is coming off a late-notice win over Cole Miller last weekend at UFC 199. The win was his second in a row since returning to the featherweight division.
The card, officially dubbed UFC Fight Night 92, will take place at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, best known as the arena the Utah Jazz play in. The promotion has tried to run Utah before, back in 2010, but slow ticket sales forced them to move the event to another location.
While this looks like a surprising choice for a headlining fight, it does show the faith that the UFC has in Rodriguez. We’ll have to see if he can live up to expectations.